If you've been baking sourdough for a while, you've probably come across the word autolyse. It sounds like something from a chemistry textbook. It isn't. It's one of the simplest, most impactful things you can do in bread baking — and it costs nothing but time.
Autolyse is simply mixing flour and water — and then waiting.
That's it. No starter, no salt, no kneading. Just flour and water, combined and left to rest for 20 to 60 minutes before you continue with the recipe.
Why Does It Work?
When flour and water meet, two things begin happening simultaneously — and both of them are useful.
First, the proteins in the flour — glutenin and gliadin — start bonding with each other to form gluten. This happens naturally, without any mechanical effort. By the time you come back to the dough after the autolyse rest, the gluten network is already well underway. You'll need significantly less kneading, and the dough will feel smoother and more extensible from the start.
Second, enzymes naturally present in the flour become active. Amylase begins breaking down damaged starch into simple sugars — food for your sourdough starter. Protease starts loosening the protein structure, making the dough more extensible and easier to shape. These enzymatic processes take time, and autolyse gives them that time.
The quality of your flour matters here too. A strong bread flour with good protein content will form gluten more readily. Browse our selection of baking flours — we stock a range of organic, stone-milled and heritage varieties specifically chosen for sourdough baking.
What You'll Notice
If you've never tried autolyse before, the difference will be immediately apparent. Before the rest, the dough feels rough, shaggy and resistant. After 30–60 minutes, you'll find a transformed dough: smoother, more cohesive, and noticeably easier to stretch without tearing.
In the finished loaf, autolyse tends to produce a more open crumb structure, a better crust, and a more developed flavour. It won't make or break a loaf, but it consistently makes a good loaf better.
How to Do It
- Weigh out your flour and water according to your recipe
- Mix them together until no dry flour remains — this takes about 2 minutes
- Cover the bowl and leave to rest at room temperature for 20–60 minutes
- After the rest, add your sourdough starter and salt and continue with the recipe as normal
One important note: add salt only after the autolyse, not before. Salt tightens the gluten network and slows the enzymatic activity — both of which work against what you're trying to achieve in the autolyse period.
Not sure if your starter is ready? Our live sourdough starter is active and ready to bake with — no guesswork needed.
How Long Should the Autolyse Be?
For most sourdough recipes, 30 minutes is the sweet spot. It's long enough for the benefits to take effect, short enough that nothing goes wrong.
You can extend it to 60 minutes or even longer — this is sometimes called an extended autolyse and can produce very extensible dough, particularly useful for high-hydration loaves or doughs with a lot of whole grain flour. However, very long autolysis periods (over 2 hours) can start to over-relax the gluten, making the dough harder to shape.
Does It Matter for Whole Grain Flour?
Yes — especially so. Whole grain and rye flours contain bran particles that act like tiny knives, cutting through the gluten network as it forms. They also absorb water more slowly than refined flour. An autolyse rest gives whole grain flours time to fully hydrate before you start working the dough. If you're baking with 30% or more whole grain flour, autolyse is not optional — it's essential.
Try It in These Recipes
Autolyse is built into both of our recent recipes — try it in our sourdough pizza dough or our sourdough rolls. Both recipes use autolyse as a foundation and walk you through each step.
Feel the difference in the dough. Taste the difference in the bread. Then keep doing it.
— Peter, Simpel Surdej
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